When I Knew I Loved Her
by inspiredinfj
Summary: The first time Rosetta met Chloe, her cheeks were flushed a red so bright it nearly matched her hair. Speckled with mud, disgusting mud, Rosetta shrieked. The pitch was high enough to make the heads of all the other fairies in the stadium turn to get a glimpse of the commotion.
The first time Rosetta met Chloe, her cheeks were flushed a red so bright it nearly matched her hair. Speckled with mud, _disgusting mud_ , Rosetta shrieked. The pitch was high enough to make the heads of all the other fairies in the stadium turn to get a glimpse of the commotion.

In one flap of her wings, all of Rosetta's friends were surrounding her. Someone was asking if she was okay when she felt the splash of something cold on her face, followed by the sensation of water soaking through her petal dress.

Rosetta opened her eyes and took a deep breath. In a furious whisper, she uttered, "Chloe."

The naïve fairy, smeared with dirt from short fringe to buckled shoes, stood between Rosetta and the boulder she had dropped in the mud moments before. She waved sheepishly. "Hello."

–

The first time Rosetta knew she disliked Chloe, Fern was holding a piece of paper with Rosetta's name on it in neat script. Fern had just pulled her name from a basket and sealed her horrific fate in being the next garden fairy to compete in the Pixie Hollow Games.

Rosetta dramatically griped and whined, her Southern twang rising into incoherent words. She pulled at Fern's sleeves, but Fern yanked her arm back dismissively.

"It's your turn. You _have_ to do it."

Rosetta sputtered, indignation on her face.

"And some advice, Rosetta?" Fern said. "Start practicing with your partner today. The competitions start tomorrow and we don't want another humiliating loss on the first day."

"Partner?" she replied in a shrill voice.

Fern flittered away, leaving a coy Chloe standing behind her. She looked up through dark lashes and gave a nervous giggle and a wave.

Rosetta glared. She just knew this was all Chloe's fault.

–

The first time Rosetta detested Chloe, she was standing at the finish line, slick with frog slime. Her dress was tattered and putrid and her usual, meticulously styled curls had been completely ruined.

"The healing talent fairies didn't finish! We get to move on to the next round!" Chloe bounced on her toes. "Isn't that exciting, Ro? Ro?"

Rosetta stared at the eager fairy in exasperation. She could hardly see how this would be cause for celebration. Moving on meant rinsing more slime out of her hair, getting more dirt under her manicured nails, and worst of all it meant spending more time with _Chloe_.

–

The first time Rosetta questioned her opinion of Chloe, a group of other garden fairies were staring at her dubiously. They were congratulating Chloe for finishing the race in one breath and condemning Rosetta in the next. To be fair, Rosetta knew deep down that her priorities were on herself during that race, but it was far easier to be scornful than to accept the guilt of holding back her team.

Rosetta was on her toes, ready to defend herself against Fern when Chloe parted the small group with open arms. "Come on, guys. Give Rosetta a break. She's doing the best she can and we're a team now, so if you're going to cheer, you have to cheer for the both of us, okay?"

Chartreuse eyes widened in surprise. Chloe's sincerity made Rosetta falter and left her wondering whether there was more to the other fairy's enthusiasm and naiveté than she cared to consider before. Rosetta felt herself begin to blush at the sentiment and quickly bit her lip.

"And just wait for tomorrow. We're going to do even better, right, Ro?" She placed her hand on Rosetta's shoulder. "Dig down deep…" she began, and Rosetta realized she was repeating that silly, little mantra of hers.

Rosetta looked from Chloe's fist, hanging in the air, to her warm smile. She sighed and met Chloe's fist with her own. "And break the streak."

–

The first time Rosetta felt a pang of sorrow for Chloe, Rumble was leering inches from Rosetta's face. Apparently, their storm fairy competitor didn't think they had what it took to win. Garden fairies were better off sticking to what they did best—look pretty. And Rosetta's refusal to drop down the slug slide in the last competition, robbing them of their first place position, definitely didn't help their cause any. In fact, it only made Rumble laugh harder as he walked away, giving them a mocking thumbs-up.

"Can ya believe him? He's nothin' but a big—" Rosetta wavered when she turned to face Chloe. There were tears in the other girl's eyes. "Oh, Chloe. I just…"

"Don't blame yourself, Rosetta. You did everything you could."

Rosetta hesitated. Did she _really_ do everything she could? For her team? For Chloe? She reached out to touch Chloe's arm, but the fairy flinched away.

"Guess I'll go get cleaned up for the final event tomorrow," she said and flew off, a cloud of emotion resting gloomy above her head. Rosetta didn't doubt that she was on the verge of tears and wanted to be alone.

Rosetta's hand lingered in the air a moment before she let it drop. With it, her head fell, hanging dejectedly on her shoulders. And then her heart went too.

–

The first time Rosetta knew there was more to her feelings for Chloe, the younger fairy's arms were wrapped around her neck. She drew Rosetta into her embrace, startling her with her excitement. The redhead felt the mud from Chloe's outfit spread over hers and she realized, for the first time, that she didn't mind being dirty.

"I can't believe we won, Ro! We won the Games!"

"Yes, _we_ did," was all Rosetta could manage to say.


End file.
